For the third time this year, I headed out to theaters to see a new romantic comedy starring actors I enjoy. So far I had experienced one really good film I will surely see again (“Catch and Release”), and another film I wouldn’t recommend to anyone (“Because I Said So”). So, going into “Music and Lyrics” I was crossing my fingers and hoping for the best. After-all, I like Hugh Grant as an actor, and I really didn’t want this latest film to mar the record of an actor who gave us “About a Boy,” “Notting Hill” and “Love Actually.” I’m also, for the most part, a fan of Drew Barrymore. (Although her work in films like “Riding in Cars With Boys” can’t help but tarnish an acting resume that boasts chick-flick classics such as “Never Been Kissed,” “50 First Dates” and “Fever Pitch.”)

I don’t remember when I first read Katherine Paterson’s “Bridge to Terabithia” but the story of friendship and a fantastic, imagined world shared by the two friends has always stuck with me. It was a page-turner that I couldn’t read fast enough and now it is a wonderful movie that I am sure I will watch again and again as time goes by.

Southside Theatre Guild will hold auditions for Agatha Christie’s “The Unexpected Guest,” Monday and Tuesday, March 5 and 6 at 7 p.m. at the theater, located at 20 W. Campbellton St. in downtown Fairburn.

The Newnan Kiwanis meeting was filled with young, smiling faces on Tuesday, Jan. 30, as the club was visited by local sponsored youth groups. Representatives were on hand from the Newnan High School Key Club, Heritage High School Key Club, Rutledge Aktion Club, Moreland Elementary School K-Kids and Western Elementary School K-Kids.

If you are looking for a fun, more modern avenue of physical activity, then sign-up for traditional pilates classes at Georgia Academy of Dance & the Performing Arts. 

Monty Python’s ‘Holy’ musical comes to town

The Tony Award-winning Best Musical of 2005, “Monty Python's Spamalot,” will debut in Atlanta at The Fox Theatre for a special two-week engagement Feb. 20 through March 4. The much-anticipated production will be co-presented by Fidelity Investments, Broadway Across America-Atlanta, and Theater of The Stars.

Comedy continues this weekend at Southside

Southside Theatre Guild will keep audiences laughing this weekend with the continuing run of the Fairburn theater’s latest show, “I Hate Hamlet,” by Paul Rudnick.

Eddie Murphy’s new comedy “Norbit” looked like it would be a crass, unfunny comedy, much like “The Nutty Professor II: The Klumps.” It was not as bad as that movie and that is high praise. “Norbit” actually shows off some of Murphy’s comedic skills and the movie has genuine laughs. It isn’t just 90 minutes of fat jokes wrapped in bad language and potty humor, although the language and the themes get a little salty at times. One five letter curse word gets tossed around like it’s the word “the” and it gets a little tiresome.

Winter is still in full swing, but organizers for two local concert venues are already in preparations for summer: summer concerts that is. Both Fayetteville’s Villages Amphitheater and Peachtree City’s Frederick Brown, Jr. Amphitheater recently announced their 2007 schedules for the annual summer concert programs. The line-ups boast a mixture of past favorites and first timers. Tickets are on sale now for current subscribers and ticket packages and individual tickets will be on sale shortly.

I went into “Because I Said So” this week with the hope that it would be fun and entertaining, a fluffy little piece of warm-fuzzy for the Valentine’s Day season. I wasn’t asking for anything too spectacular or life changing. I wasn’t looking for some life lesson or the answer to any of life’s problems, really. I just wanted a nice two hour recess from the stress of everyday life. Instead I got two hours of ridiculous scenarios, cliche characters and an overwhelming sense of buyer’s remorse. Okay, so maybe not overwhelming, but I did find myself thinking about the two hours of my life I could never get back.

This film operates under the assumption that there are ghosts, but only little children can see them. The spirits that inhabit a farm house in North Dakota lurk in all sorts of strange places (standing on a bed, crawling on a ceiling), but why? Do they have nefarious plans for the new home owners or are they trying to tell them something?

Opening night for Southside Theatre Guild’s latest show, “I Hate Hamlet,” was held Thursday at the Fairburn based theater company.

The Atlanta Chamber Players (ACP) will continue their 31st season with one of chamber music’s most beloved theatrical works, American composer George Crumb’s “Voice of the Whale,” on Friday, Feb. 16 at 8:15 p.m. at Spivey Hall.

The Legacy Theatre, south Atlanta's only full time professional live theatre, is proud to celebrate Black History Month with one public performance of “The Cay.”

Adapted by Dr. Gayle Cornelison, “The Cay” is a play based on the award winning novel by Theodore Taylor and tells the story of a boy, Phillip, who is blinded and shipwrecked on a small island with the aged West Indian, Timothy. During his ordeal, Phillip must depend on Timothy to survive and discovers that his companion is a wise and dignified man and that the color of one's skin does not determine a person's worth.

School fund raisers get underway

Winter may be in full swing, but area high schools are gearing up for spring with fund raisers of all shapes and sizes. Students, teachers, friends and family have put in hours of work to help these local schools put together events that will amaze attendees. Scholarship pageants, fashion shows and consignment sales have been around for decades, but each of the following programs will have their own unique twist on these family-friendly events aimed at raising funds for local school programs:

“Catch and Release,” Susannah Grant’s (“Erin Brockovich”) latest film to hit theaters, is a kind of all over-the-place look at life, love and self discovery and, for me, the film’s sporadic nature is sort of the point. Just like life, “Catch and Release” can’t be neatly fit into a little box of happiness and laughter and the heart of the film is the three dimensional nature of both the characters and the story and their depiction of the hardships and triumphs of life.

“Smokin’ Aces,” the latest film from Joe Carnahan, isn’t a bad movie, but it could have been, and should have been, more fun.

Southside Theatre Guild will present the musical “Crazy for You,” April 26-28, May 3-6, and 10-12. They will be holding auditions on Sunday, Feb. 11 at 2 p.m., and Monday and Tuesday, Feb. 12 and 13 at 7 p.m.

Main Street Newnan has announced that the 2007 Market Day vendor applications are currently available at the Main Street Newnan Web site.

United Way Women’s Legacy has launched the “From Our Heart to Yours” Shoebox Project and is asking the community to gather empty shoeboxes, decorate them and fill them with personal care items for women and children living in homeless shelters. Shoeboxes may be dropped off at the United Way Coweta County office, 61 Hospital Rd., through Feb. 7. The shoeboxes will be delivered to homeless shelters in the metro Atlanta area on Valentine’s Day. As part of the United Way Women’s Legacy Family Shelter Initiative, the goal of the Shoebox Project is to increase awareness of homeless women and children.

Omega Books in Peachtree City will host a book signing with local author John Hickman. Hickman’s book, “The Man in Muddy Creek,” was released in Dec. 2006 by Plum Tree Farm Publishers.

Celebrating her 91st birthday, R. V. Greene was honored by her daughter, Nancy Roy, with a brunch at her mother's home on Wednesday, Jan.17.

At first glance, everything about the Osan U.S. Air Base, just south of the capital city of Seoul, South Korea, makes it look like any other base around the world. Modern barracks, plenty of American restaurants, tons of local shopping -- even a golf course make the base one of the better assignments in Korea. But for the daughter of a Newnan woman, it's not the obvious that makes this assignment also one of the most tense in the world.

In appreciation of teachers across the nation who give endlessly and enrich the lives of so many students, AMC Theatres and Paramount Pictures are offering teachers an exclusive opportunity to see the highly-acclaimed inspirational film, “Freedom Writers,” free of charge. All teachers* throughout the U.S. are invited to visit an AMC theatre Friday, Jan. 26 through Thursday, Feb. 1, 2007, to receive one free ticket to any showing of the film during that time. The offer is valid exclusively at all participating theatres in the AMC system including: AMC Loews theatres, AMC Star theatres, AMC Magic Johnson theatres and AMC Cineplex Odeon theatres (check local listings for film availability and show times).

Air Force Airman Joshua C. Prater has graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas. During the six weeks of training, the airman studied the Air Force mission, organization, and military customs and courtesies; performed drill and ceremony marches, and received physical training, rifle marksmanship, field training exercises, and special training in human relations. In addition, airmen who complete basic training earn credits toward an associate degree through the Community College of the Air Force. He is the son of David and Melissa Prater of Newnan, Ga. and a 2006 graduate of Northgate High School, Newnan.

Annual event held this weekend

It’s what many call the “premier mid-winter social event" in Peachtree City, and this weekend neighbors, friends and families will come together to eat, talk and laugh at the Kiwanis Club of Peachtree City’s 15th annual Pancake Saturday.

The all-you-can-eat meal will be served in the McIntosh High School cafeteria on Walt Banks Road in Peachtree City from 7 a.m. until 1 p.m. The menu consists of fluffy pancakes, tasty sausage, orange juice, milk, coffee and tea.

Six diverse writers will bring mystery, romance, inspiration and dark sci-fi to their “Tips of the Trade” talks at the “Southern Crescent Emerging Writers Showcase,” on Saturday, Jan. 27, at 1 p.m., at the Fayette County Public Library. Moderated by public services librarian Sarah Trowbridge, each author will give a book presentation, have interaction with the audience, participate in a Q&A and sign books. The event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.

Once upon a time there was a girl named Ofelia. Ofelia loved fairy tales, even though her mother, pregnant with another child, and her stepfather, an evil man named Captain Vidal, wished she would grow up and leave those stories behind. Living in a home by an abandoned mill in Spain in the 1940s, Ofelia became more and more immersed in her fairy tales, while her mother grew more ill as her pregnancy advanced and Captain Vidal and his men drew closer to eliminating resistance fighters in the woods.

The eighth annual Bluegrass Blast fund raiser is coming up, and organizers are busy putting the finishing touches on the much anticipated event.

Scheduled for Jan. 27 at 7 p.m., the annual concert will raise funds for the Fayette County High School Select Chorus’ upcoming trip to New York. The event will feature three top bluegrass bands and will be held at the F. A. Sam’s Auditorium in Fayetteville, Ga.

Susan Kelley Delaine writes from experience and from the heart in her first published book of recipes for people with food allergies, “Balancing the Bowl” – a new cookbook featuring allergen-free, delectable and culturally diverse recipes.

Delaine will speak and offer allergy-free recipes and food samples on Saturday, Jan. 20 at 1 p.m. at the Fayette County Public Library, 1821 Heritage Park Way, Fayetteville.